Uncategorized – Page 8 – DISPATCHES FROM THE VOID

Agrimonia-Awaken

Crusty. This seems to be the keyword for everything I ever read about this band. I’m not really sure where it started, but somehow it just managed to stick to this band. Sure, they’re a little rough around the edges, but I’m not really sure “crusty” is the right descriptor for this band.

I stumbled upon these guys a few years ago when they released their second full-length, Rites of Separation. To me, that album was a loud announcement that an ambitious and forward-thinking death metal band had arrived. It was just full of inventive and hard-driving riffs. And then, silence. It just seemed as if these guys appeared and then dissipated back into the mist from which they mysteriously appeared. Oh, so happy was I when I saw their name pop back up on the release calendar.

So, how’d they do upon their long-awaited return? Damn close to five years of gestation for these songs, I had to expect that these would be some well-crafted epics. You’ve got five proper songs with one additional instrumental interlude. My first pass on the album left me with an overall impression of “Hmmmm. Good, but not entirely blown away.” On my second pass, the nuance of the songs really started to come out. This is a very dense beast and it’s still going to take some time to fully come to terms with it. Ultimately, this is a band to reckon with. There’s not much flash to their game. I think a better descriptor than “crusty” would be “earthy”. There’s just something organic about their sound. I have a feeling that by the end of the year that this album will just continue to rise in terms of its lasting impact.

4 flip flops out of 5

Arkona-Khram

Pagan metal tends to come in one of two forms. The first kind is a light-hearted romp through the forest. There are fairies and sprytes and hobbits and shit. Band members in animal pelts. A lot of the time, this kind of metal goes way over the top and veers into the land of cheese.

On the other hand, you’ve got the brand of pagan metal that doesn’t fuck around. Ancient forests containing evil secrets. Various rites and spells. Think of the musical version of the movie The VVitch and it may give you a hint of what to expect.

Arkona is not only a pagan metal band, but they are a band that hail from Russia. Hence, bleak as fuck. Their lyrics are all in Russian. As a result, I have no idea what is going on in the songs, but none of it sounds like it ends well. Oh, and vocalist Masha “Scream” composes her lyrics in longhand in her own blood (reproductions of the lyric sheets are included in the album insert). I mean, nothing really says “Fuck off, poseur!” like penning your handwritten lyrics in blood.

The music presented on this latest album is a diverse set. The main backbone is a traditional black metal foundation with the addition of all kinds of worldly instruments, such as bagpipes, flutes, mandolins, to bring that pagan authenticity to the proceedings. Hell, I believe they actually break out a hurdy gurdy at some point on here. Masha “Scream” lives up to her name by provided blood curdling screeches interspersed with clean vocals. One the creepier moments on the album occurs with what sounds like an ancient chant or spell sung by a choir of children. There is just something downright disquieting about the chant.

Overall, this is a really ambitious album and one that definitely brings a unique voice to the metal game. I really hope to see these guys bring their live show over to the States.

4.5 flip flops out of 5

Joe Satriani-What Happens Next

Satriani just keeps on plugging away. Every two to three years or so, he cranks out another of these collections of instrumental musings. This is going to sound very backhanded and I really don’t mean it in that way, but every time I see a new Satriani album pop up on the release calendar, my first reaction is of exhaustion. Like, “Damn, he really put another of these things out? Wow.” OK, now that I type it, it really is a horrible first impression. But, then I sit down and listen to it and I’m reminded why this dude is held in so high esteem by so many guitar-centric folks.

The new album is vintage Satriani. No surprises. No punches pulled. Same guitar tone. Same guitar delivery. Same strong song structure and musical voice. You just know it’s Satch when you hear it. Overall, this one won’t stack up real high in his discography and is a bit of a step down from his last album Shockwave Supernova. I was a little disappointed by the overall quality of the songs on this one since he enlisted Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple and Trapeze on bass and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums. On paper, it’s one hell of a power trio, but in practice it resulted in a sort of middle-of-the-road dad rock instrumentals

3 flip flops out of 5

Ty Tabor-Alien Beans

Hey-ho, diddly doo!! I’m back from an extended break and ready to start in the process of going through all of the brand spankin’ new albums for the year of 2018 for all of you dirty little bastards. Let’s start digging into this shit because this is going to be a monster year for Metal.

Ty Tabor is my favorite guitarist of all time. This isn’t really based on his influence or place in the history of music. Obviously, Hendrix, Page, Iommi, Van Halen and the like are in a higher place as far as their innovation and long-standing reach. But for my money, I have never been able to get enough of Tabor’s style, tone and ability to craft a mesmerizing solo. Every time I hear his work with King’s X, various side projects and his solo work, the guitar work and songwriting he comes up with just does something to my insides. His sound is just warm and inviting. He’s definitely my top choice for lead guitarist if I was starting my all-time all star band (pairing him with Alex Lifeson, in case you were curious).

So, it’s with that heap of praise for the man that I unfortunately have to be the bearer of somewhat bad news: his latest release is a little on the underwhelming side. Sure, there are some nice moments on here (Back It Down, Until This Day Is Done and This Time stand out) and some of the songs will get stuck in your head, but the album just doesn’t soar as some of his previous solo work has (Naomi’s Solar Pumpkin, Safety and Rock Garden to name a few). It looks as though he wrote and performed every instrument this time around. I’m kind of wondering if the album would have benefited with the input and/or collaboration of some other people. Just a thought.

All in all, this is a fairly solid, but not remarkable, slab of melodic rock n’ roll.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Best of Metal 2017: #1 Enslaved-E

Well, here it is. The winner of 2017’s Golden Flip Flop award goes to Norway’s finest, Enslaved, who delivered a modern progressive death metal classic with the simple titled, “E”. It’s always really nice when a band that you’ve been a huge fan of delivers in a monumental manner especially when they are this deep into their career. This is album #14 for Enslaved and it is just amazing at how fresh and innovative this album is. This is still a band that is pushing the boundaries of what death metal can be. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating here: Enslaved is right there at the top with Opeth as far as the progressive Scandinavian death metal bands go. However, rather than completely dislodging themselves from death metal entirely as Opeth has done over their past three albums, Enslaved is still firmly committed to remaining true to the death metal roots. It’s just that they have expanded so much on the original format and have just created this immensely beautiful creation. I feel like this band has captured sonically what the true essence of what the land of Norway stands.

Cheers, Enslaved! I can’t wait to see where you take us next time you venture into the studio.

Release date: 10/13/2017

Personnel: Grutle Kjellson-death vocals/bass, Ivar Bjornson-guitar, Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal-guitar, Hakon Vinje-clean vocals/keyboards, Cato Bekkevold-drums

Origin: Bergen, Norway

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The final list

1. Enslaved-E
2. Power Trip-Nightmare Logic
3. Elder-Reflections of a Floating World
4. Body Count-Bloodlust
5. Cormorant-Diaspora
6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon

Best of Metal 2017: #2 Power Trip-Nightmare Logic

Sledgehammer. To. The. Face.

That about sums it up on this one. Couple this album with Body Count’s Bloodlust and you have the perfect compendium of anger albums for 2017. Nightmare Logic isn’t reinventing the wheel, but what it does, it does extremely fucking well. The biggest compliment I can give this album is that it could have easily come out in 1986 during the halcyon days of the Bay Area thrash scene and it would have fit in just fine. This album is going to go down as Power Trip’s Reign in Blood. It’s short and sweet and it will just decapitate you if you’re not careful.

Release date: 2/24/2017

Personnel: Riley Gale-vocals, Blake Ibanez-guitar, Nick Stewart-guitar, Chris Whetzel-bass, Chris Ulsh-drums

Origin: Dallas, TX

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The list so far:

2. Power Trip-Nightmare Logic
3. Elder-Reflections of a Floating World
4. Body Count-Bloodlust
5. Cormorant-Diaspora
6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon

Best of Metal 2017: #3 Elder-Reflections of a Floating World

This is one of those albums that is going to be in my rotation for many years to come. This is really how the stoner/doom band thing should be handled. Each song is a really long journey, but whereas some bands tend to just meander with no real direction or cohesion, Elder is in complete control. It’s adventurous, but never self-indulgent. Everything is just contained perfectly. And the guitar work. Oh, the lovely, lovely guitar work. This is just a master class in technique and songcraft. Top notch album from a very top notch band.

Release date: 6/2/2017

Personnel: Nick DiSalvo-vocals/guitar, Jack Donovan-bass, Matt Couto-drums

Origin: Boston, MA

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The list so far:

3. Elder-Reflections of a Floating World
4. Body Count-Bloodlust
5. Cormorant-Diaspora
6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon

Best of Metal 2017: #4 Body Count-Bloodlust

Finally! It looks like it took all of the events leading up to 2017 to finally piss Ice-T off enough for him to finally have a Body Count album that fully coalesced into something monumental. This album is just damn near perfect and I think it is just a cathartic exercise for everyone who has just about had it with all of the bullshit going on in this country. Ernie C and the rest of the backing band just step everything up in a major way and provide a hard-hitting infectious foundation for Ice-T to just go off on everything. The lyrics are relevant and very, very angry. I’ll be perfectly honest in admitting that I’m surprised that this one landed so far up on the list, but it is one of a handful of albums that came out this year that I kept coming back to time and time again. This is a landmark album for this band and I really hope they can capitalize on the creative spirit of this one going forward. We need music like this.

Release date: 3/31/2017

Personnel: Ice-T-vocals, Ernie C-guitar, Juan of the Dead-guitar, Vincent Price-bass, Ill Will-drums

Origin: Los Angeles, CA

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The list so far:

4. Body Count-Bloodlust
5. Cormorant-Diaspora
6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon

Best of Metal 2017: #5 Cormorant-Diaspora

In 2017, Cormorant probably had the greatest leap forward than any other band. Diaspora was their clarion call to the rest of the metal world to wake up and notice that there is a serious new player on the scene. I’ve been a fan of their previous work, but this new album is just so ambitious. They reached for heights they hadn’t attempted in the past and their ambitions are rewarded in one of the most quality releases to come out this year. The album is composed of only four songs. So, the album takes an investment on the listener’s part. However, if you give into it, you will be rewarded with a wonderful sonic journey. Kudos, Cormorant! I really hope to see you guys play these songs live at some point in the near future.

Release date: 10/6/2017

Personnel: Marcus Luscombe-vocals/bass, Nick Cohon-guitar, Matt Solis-guitar, Brennan Kunkel-drums

Origin: San Francisco, CA

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The list so far:

5. Cormorant-Diaspora
6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon

Best of Metal 2017: #6 Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient

Sludge. It does the body good. Bison does the sludge real good. Therefore, it reasons that listening to this new album by Bison will do you some good.

This is a deceptively simple album. First time through, you might think it’s a fine little album. But, each spin, it will take you a little deeper. This album has a gravity in its sound and in it’s lyrical content that will make it hard for the listener to escape. And it just has one of the weirdest album titles I’ve come across. I can’t tell you how long I’ve pondered what the hell they were getting at. What do you mean I’m not the ocean? Why am I the patient? I don’t understand. Well, I stumbled across the following passage from the band that helps explain where their heads were at during the creation of this album. Spoiler: it’s bleak as fuck.

“You are not the ocean. You do not orchestrate a beautiful cacophony of life and death, struggle and destruction, creation and dependence. You are not the sole reason for the existence of a nation of creatures to live and abide your stark and simple rules. You are not married to the moon. You do not allow the constellations to be your map. You do not destroy cities and drown their citizens. You do not embrace land’s golden hem as your child, with calm and tenderness. You do not crash and spray craggy shores with fury and passion. You are not unstoppable. You are not powerful. You are not necessary.

You are the patient. You are controlled. You are cared for, out of duty. You are maintained with medicines and examinations. You are met with cold hands and protocol. Your most intimate self is put on a form. You are questioned about pains and thoughts. You are dependent on those with knowledge. You are helpless. You are tired and bed ridden. You do no harm and you do not help. You are monitored and caged. You are kept away from others. You are contaminated. You are sick. You are keeping yourself sick. You do not know how to recover. You do not want to recover. You do not know what recovery is.”

Release date: 7/7/2017

Personnel: James Farwell-guitar/vocals, Dan And-guitar/vocals, Shane Clark-bass, Matt Wood-drums

Origin-Vancouver, Canada

Rating: 5 flip flops out of 5

The list so far:

6. Bison-You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient
7. Mastodon-Emperor of Sand/Cold Dark Place
8. Wolves in the Throne Room-Thrice Woven
9. Quicksand-Interiors
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing For Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon